How to Grow Your Own Food – 9/4/2013 Garden Tally

This year I’m on a mission to grow 4,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables in my suburban backyard. In 2012 I was able to grow 2,028 pounds, and in 2013 I’m going double or nothing. I have absolutely no idea if I’ll be able to achieve my goal. But, as with any adventure, half the fun is getting there.   ~Mavis

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This past week we harvested just a little over 200 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from our backyard garden. Wowie zowie that is a lot of food. I held a mini farmer’s market at the end of my driveway over the weekend, and we’ve been busy making batches of heirloom tomato sauce like crazy and thinking up ways to use the plethora of tomatoes that are still sitting on my kitchen counter.

I love this time of year!

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 1 pound 3 ounces

I LOVE making fresh pesto and strawberry basil jam.

Beets – 86 pounds 4 ounces

We still have plenty more beets to pull up but I’m waiting for them to get a little bigger first. Also, the beets we planted for this years Thanksgiving feast are doing well and look to be right on schedule.

Bok Choy – 4 oz

We have more Boy Choy growing in the pallet garden. I’ll try and get some pictures posted tomorrow to show you.

Broccoli – 13 ounces

The fall broccoli we planted is looking healthy. The slugs have not discovered it yet {fingers crossed} so I am hopeful.

Cabbage – 40 pounds 14 ounce

We are patiently waiting to harvest our purple cabbage!

Carrots – 5 pounds 6 ounces

We thinned our carrots the other day and brought a few large ones inside to snack on. Yum!

Chives – 1 pound 12 ounces

We thinned the chives and replanted our herb bed the other day. It always amazes me how we can have fresh chives year round.

Cucumbers 5 pound 2 ounces

We picked a few cukes over the weekend and have been making simple cucumber tomato salads with them.

Egg Count – 1,885

We collected 51 eggs this past week. The Hillbilly’s stopped by for fresh eggs on Saturday and I forgot to get a count of how many they took. Oops!

Garlic 9 pounds 2 ounces

Our garlic has been harvested for this year and I am using it in practically every dish now. 🙂

Garlic Scapes 11 ounces

We used these to make Garlic Scape Pesto. Yumm!

Green Beans 11 pounds 9 ounces

I noticed the beans on the tepee poles are about ready to be harvested. Hopefully this week.

Kale – 20 pounds 14 ounces

Note to self: The neighbors LOVE kale.

Kohlrabi 5 pounds 10 ounces

Lettuce – 36 pounds 9 ounces

We should be harvesting lettuce in about another week. Weeee!

Microgreens 5 ounces

My favorite way to eat microgreens is with egg salad sandwiches.

Mint 12 oz

I made some blueberry mint jam and also harvested some mint for tea.

Oregano – 1 pound 5 ounces

I used a bunch this past week for my heirloom tomato sauce.

Onion – 17 pounds 6 ounces

All the cool people are storing onions in their pantyhose these days. 😉

Pears 47 pounds 7 ounces

We had a bumper crop this year.

Peas – 42 pounds 9 ounces

Aren’t they beautiful? I think they’ll be ready to harvest in early October.

Potatoes – 210 pounds 1 ounces

Lucy LOVES raw potatoes. What a nut!

Radish – 22 pounds 2 ounces

Radishes have been planted for fall.

Raspberries – 21 pounds 7 ounces

Raspberry season is officially over in our backyard. 🙁

Rhubarb – 39 pounds 9 ounces

I harvested rhubarb 2 twice last week for my mini farmer’s market. So far this year we have made rhubarb vanilla jam, rhubarb walnut muffins, and strawberry rhubarb pies. 

Sage – 14 ounces

Spinach – 15 ounces

I’ll be planting more in the fall.

Sprouts –2 pounds 15 ounces

I grew some sprouts this past week for my vegan neighbor Francisco.

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Strawberries 23 pounds 9 ounces

Besides eating them fresh, so far we have made strawberry kiwi jam, strawberry freezer jam, strawberry pie, and homemade strawberry shortcake.

Swiss Chard 25 pounds 6 ounces

Ugg. {But chickens and neighbors like it}.

Tomatoes 145 pounds 1 ounces

Tomato season has finally arrived and they are keeping me busy!

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Zucchini – 23 pounds 6 ounces

As I’m sure you are well aware, unattended zucchinis can grow to the size of baseball bats pretty quickly. 😉

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 911 pounds 5 ounces  853 pounds 0 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,885